Robin Simone Givens (born November 27, 1964) is an American stage, television, film actress and model. Givens began her acting career after graduating from Sarah Lawrence College in 1984. In 1986, she won the role of Darlene Merriman in the ABC sitcom Head of the Class. She remained with the series for its entire five-year run. After the series ended in 1991, she continued her career with film roles and guest starring roles on television. She currently has a recurring role as Mayor Sierra McCoy on Riverdale.[1]

In 1996, Givens co-starred on the sitcom Sparks, which aired for two seasons on UPN. In January 2000, she took over hosting duties on the syndicated talk show Forgive or Forget. The show was canceled four months later. Givens has since had recurring roles on The Game, Tyler Perry's House of Payne, and Chuck. In 2007, Givens released her autobiography, Grace Will Lead Me Home. Givens has been married and divorced twice. Her first marriage, to boxer Mike Tyson in 1988, drew considerable media attention as did their divorce the following year. Her second marriage, to tennis instructor Svetozar Marinković in 1997, also lasted a year. In 1993, Givens adopted a son. In 2000, she gave birth to a second son fathered by her ex-boyfriend, tennis player Murphy Jensen.

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Givens was born in New York City, to Ruth Roper (née Newby) and Reuben Givens,[2] who divorced when she was two. Her mother raised Givens and her sister Stephanie in Mount Vernon and New Rochelle, New York in a Catholic upbringing.[3] Givens graduated from New Rochelle Academy (a N–12 private school which closed in June 1987), and enrolled at Sarah Lawrence College at age 15. She graduated in 1984.[4] She attended Harvard Medical School for two years, but did not graduate.[5]

In January 2000, Givens appeared in a cameo in Toni Braxton's music video "He Wasn't Man Enough", as the wife of a cheating husband.[8] She returned to the entertainment industry later that year as the host of the talk show Forgive or Forget, replacing television personality Mother Love halfway through the show's second. Ratings initially increased after Givens took over hosting duties,[9] but soon fell. The series was canceled after this season.[10]

After a miscarriage in May 1988, the marriage began to fall apart.[19] In a joint interview with Tyson on 20/20, Givens told Barbara Walters that life with him was "torture, pure hell, worse than anything I could possibly imagine," and she went on to describe his volatile temper.[20] In October 1988, Givens filed for divorce and was granted a temporary restraining order. Her attorney, Marvin Mitchelson, said "She loves Michael Tyson. But there is continued violence, and she fears for her safety."[21] Givens alleged spousal abuse, while Tyson alleged alienation and interest in his money, not in him. The divorce was finalized on Valentine's Day in 1989. Newspapers reported that Givens received a divorce settlement of over $10 million from her marriage to Tyson.[22] She later denied the report, stating: "I didn’t receive one dime".[23] She received negative press following her split from Tyson, particularly within the African American community. One article, in particular, described her as "the most hated woman in America".[24]

In 1993, Givens adopted her first son, Michael. In 1997, she married her tennis instructor, Svetozar Marinković; Givens filed for divorce months later.[7] In 1999, she had a second son, William, with ex-boyfriend, Murphy Jensen.[25]

In January 2004, Givens critically injured an 89-year-old pedestrian, Maria Antonia Alcover, while driving an SUV through a Miami, Florida intersection.[26] Givens was ticketed for failing to use due care with a pedestrian in a crosswalk, but the charges were later dismissed.[27] In June 2004, Alcover filed a civil lawsuit against Givens and her sister (the owner of the SUV Givens was driving) for an unknown amount.[28]

A May 7, 2009 article in Forbes magazine reported that the Internal Revenue Service was suing Givens for unpaid federal income taxes totaling $292,000, which includes interest and penalties. The government had asked a federal court in Florida for a judgment against her on 39 assessments covering a span of eight years.[29]

^Gross, Ken (October 17, 1998). "As Wife Robin Givens Splits for the Coast, Mike Tyson Rearranges the Furniture". People. "The food lies untouched. The only sounds across the breakfast table in the Bernardsville, N.J., mansion are the loud silences of words being swallowed. Finally, Robin Givens, 24, star of the ABC-TV sitcom Head of the Class, pushes herself away from the table and announces, 'I have to pack.' 'Me, too,' says her husband, Mike Tyson, 22, the world heavyweight boxing champion. Suddenly the Sunday morning atmosphere is tense and full of menace."